Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has warned that countries refusing to take back rejected asylum seekers could face visa suspensions, as she pledged to move “further and faster” to cut irregular migration. In her first major announcement since taking office, Mahmood said she would do “whatever it takes” to reduce the number of people entering the UK via small boats and other irregular routes.
Speaking after a meeting of the Five Eyes security partnership – comprising the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – Mahmood proposed cutting the number of visas granted to nations that delay or refuse returns of their citizens who have no right to remain in the UK. “We do expect countries to play ball, play by the rules and if one of your citizens has no right to be in our country, you do need to take them back,” she said.
Countries where returns of refused asylum seekers are low and demand for UK visas is high include India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. Experts cautioned that the lack of detail made it difficult to assess potential impacts. Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, said the “nuclear option” would be entirely preventing citizens from certain countries from obtaining visit, work or study visas, while smaller restrictions could include higher costs.
Mahmood also confirmed she had always been in favour of ID cards but declined to say whether they would become compulsory. She added that the government would consider changes to domestic legislation and guidance on implementing the European Convention on Human Rights, arguing the “balance” between human rights and secure borders “isn’t in the right place at the moment”.
The announcement came after it was confirmed more than 30,000 people had crossed the Channel in small boats so far in 2025, a record for this point in the year. At least 1,097 people arrived in 17 boats on Saturday, bringing the total to 30,100.
